It was just about a year ago that I began buying a dozens and dozens of books in my research for The Focus Course. I bought physical copies because you can get used books cheaper than Kindle books. But, what I discovered, was that I much preferred using physical books to do research.
Good episode of Shawn’s members-only podcast. So good that I asked him if I could share it here with you. What we believe in.
Shawn has been killing it lately — putting out so much great stuff it boggles the mind. So, if you like what you hear you should consider checking out more of his stuff and supporting him.
I get a fair number of notebooks sent to me for review. I write in them for the first couple of pages, maybe try out some different inks or handwrite a draft of the review, but then I’m done. The truth is, I generally use the notebooks I use and like the ones I like and tend not to veer from them. If I do get sent a notebook that knocks me off my feet, I will switch to it but this is rare. So, these notebooks sent to me by all too kind folks go into my (way too large and growing) pile of notebooks likely never to be used again — which seems a shame and a waste.
So, I’ve been wondering if there is any interest in these very slightly used notebooks by my readers here. I’ve also been trying to come up with a good way to choose how to get them into the hands of those that are — with the least expense, time, etc. to myself but also as fair as possible to all involved.
“I started with Stardust: It was (in my head) being written in the 1920s, so I bought a fountain pen and a big notebook and wrote it by hand to find out how writing by hand changed my head. And it did, it really did. I was sparser, I would think my way through a sentence further, I would write less, in a good way. And when I typed it up, it became a very real second draft – things would vanish or change. I discovered that I enjoyed messing about with fountain pens, I even liked the scritchy noise the pen nib made on the paper.”
Very cool. I’ve known that Neil writes with pen and fountain pen before this but actually seeing it and reading his experience it gives it new perspective. Make sure to click through because there are a ton of scans that really show his process — crassest, side notes, and all.
Today, December 9th, is a day I’ve designated as Journal Day.
My plan for celebrating the day (which, truthfully, I started last night) is to open up past year’s journals, logs, and notes and tease out any ideas that may have gotten lost in the shuffle and see what I might want to put into action the coming year. On August 10, 2014 I noted that my wife and I were a pretty good canoe team after a jaunt out on the lake at our family cabin and that, perhaps, we should go canoeing more often here in town. There are plenty of lakes with canoe rental in town and it would be a lovely way to spend some more time together. I had forgotten this so, now, I can make it a part of my intentions for the coming year.
I also have unwrapped my 2016 Hobonichi Techo and started to prep it for the coming year. For instance, I filled out my contact info on the page provided in the back and started to note special events on the pages in the front.
But, that’s just my way to mark the day. You might decide to do something else. Need some help? Here are some ideas I’ve mentioned in the past…
This might be the day to take out previous journals and reflect on where you were then versus where you are today.
You might let someone you trust read one you have kept and get to know the “real” you.
Perhaps gift a journal to another person in your life who practices or you feel could benefit from doing so.
Or, maybe, be so bold as to spend a year keeping a journal for someone else in your life whom you love and spend your days with — write down their day as you saw it or the things you were thinking about them at that time. How wonderful a gift would it be to allow someone close to you to “see” themselves and their year through your eyes?
Like the above, start a journal for your kids that are too young to keep their own. We forget so much of those early years. This is a way to remember those special times. This is the sort of thing that would make a meaning high-school graduation gift when they get older.
These are just a few of the ways you can celebrate. If you come up with others, I would love to hear about them.Shoot me a message on Twitter and I’ll try to add them here. Happy Journalling!
The Sinclair features three pen slots on one side, a memo book pocket (3.5″ x 5.5″) on the opposite, and room for a few small accessories in the middle. Everything is held in securely with a zipper across the top half for a beautiful, functional pen case.
They’ve teased shots of this one on Instagram for a while and I’ve been (not so) patiently waiting for its release. Looks fantastic and I can’t wait to receive mine.
“[He] opened a fresh notebook. On the title page he wrote: NOTEBOOK OF THINGS I DON’T KNOW ABOUT. For the first but not last time he reorganized his knowledge. He worked for weeks at disassembling each branch of physics, oiling the parts, and putting them back together, looking all the while for the raw edges and inconsistencies. He tried to find the essential kernels of each subject.”
I love the idea of taking the things you believe you know deeply and deconstructing them to reveal what you don’t know so that you can go and learn it.
What is really bothering me about all of this, is I can’t wrap this up with a neat bow and tell you whether or not analog notes are better. It bothers me not because it makes for a crappy ending to an article, but because I really want to know for myself.
Mr. Brooks compares/contrasts analog and digital note taking and, so far, comes away undecided. Ultimately, it’s about whatever works best for you and sometimes even that can change based on the situation. For me, in most situations, that’s paper and pen.
The whole point of [keeping a notebook] is to make it yours… and do it in your own way…. That’s how you need to treat every notebook you’ve got! You need to be okay with whatever you put in there being complete garbage…. This means that even if you don’t know how to draw, it’s okay for you to draw. Even if you don’t know how to doodle, it’s okay for you to doodle. Even if you don’t know how to write, you know what? You are totally okay to just go write something. And if you don’t like it, you can tear it up, and throw it in your neighbor’s yard.
